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In last week's The Ravagers #8, DC fans got to experience a teenage superhero book by horror writer Michael Alan Nelson— with a tone inspired by his love of darker stories. Known for his work on indie series like Fall of Cthulhu and 28 Days Later, Nelson is not turning The Ravagers into a horror book, nor is he making The Ravagers "dark just for the sake of dark."

But he does want to push the characters into environments that "bring us to a better understanding of [the] characters," and that includes Nelson's "usual dusky atmosphere."

And as recent issues and solicitations have hinted, that "dusky-ness" will likely include a confrontation from Deathstroke in coming issues.

Nelson comes from a horror background, so he admits to leaning toward the darker hues of storytelling; “since it makes the bright moments shine even brighter”.

Nelson teases issue #9: “Rose and Warblade are seeking out a rogue Ravager who is having difficulty controlling his powers where they chase him into a small mountain town known as Hartsville as he loses control of those powers. The whole town is now in jeopardy. As the story unfolds readers learn why Rose and Warblade feel compelled to help the town, but along the way the townspeople, led by their Sheriff, become more than hapless bystanders. They come together in a way that makes Rose and Warblade question aspects of their own lives. If they do good for selfish reasons, is it still good? They may not necessarily find the answer, but they at least start to ask the question. That, and other questions, will inform the rest of the series as we move forward.”

Starting this week, a DC fantasy character Stalker gets a new life in the back-up stories of Sword of Sorcery #4.

Written by Marc Andreyko with art by Andrei Bressan, the stories feature Stalker the Soulless, a DC character who achieves immortality, but at the cost of his soul. Originally created by Paul Levitz and Steve Ditko, Stalker had a short-lived title back in the '70s.

Sword of Sorcery had previously included a Beowulf story in its back-up features since its launch, which will now be replaced by "Stalker."

Andreyko describes this as definitely fantasy, but with a horror edge. After seeing the great art by Andrei Bressan, he states that the arc feels a little like the great old stories from the Warren magazines of the '70s.

The Stalker arc is self-contained and more of a tonal complement to the main story but the two won’t be teaming up anytime soon.

He describes Bressan’s art as exquisitely detailed and expressive. The storytelling and character designs left him speechless. “He is an incredibly gifted artist who definitely has a bright future ahead of him in American comics! I would work with him again in an instant.”

Below is the cover to The Ravagers #10 along with preview art from that title and the Stalker back-up.

I'm not a fan of the reboot but I can appreciate some titles are doing well (mostly the ones with the least changes, not ironically).But Ravengers just screams 90s Image. Not getting who the market is for this book.

holtom2000 wrote:I'm not a fan of the reboot but I can appreciate some titles are doing well (mostly the ones with the least changes, not ironically).But Ravengers just screams 90s Image. Not getting who the market is for this book.

That's why I've not touched it plus I thought the new Teen Titans & Superboy series' were awful.